My Lovely Disciples

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in front of Uzumaki Mito and reported the decision he had made.

"Grandma, is Uncle Sarutobi here? Is he going to take me out to play?" A blonde loli came to the door and looked inside. It was Uzumaki Mito granddaughter, Tsunade.

"Alright, Sarutobi, let's leave it at that. There's no need to seek advice on everything. I'm getting old too. You can protect Konoha in your own way." Mito smiled warmly at Tsunade and added, "Make sure to address your sensei properly. Go to your sensei and have him take you to your training."

Tsunade obediently trotted over and stood in front of Mito, but her eyes revealed a weird look.

Sarutobi Hiruzen also smiled, crouched down to Tsunade's level, gently ruffled the back of her head, and said, "Little Tsunade, eager to begin your ninja training? Don't complain later!"

Tsunade shook her head and said to Hiruzen, "I won't complain, it's Jiraiya who keeps whining. Sarutobi-sensei, let's go train. I'm going to be a great ninja, just like my grandfather."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and said, "How about this, go call your teammates and wait for me at the first training ground. I'll teach you a ninjutsu today. Hurry up!"

Tsunade ran out the door, and her voice echoed, "Sensei, you better hurry up and don't keep us waiting!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen then wiped the smile from his face and turned to Mito, "Lady Mito, in three days, I'll be leading the team to the Land of Iron for the Five Kage Summit and only Homura and Koharu will remain in the village".

Uzumaki Mito sighed and responded wearily, "I know, I know, you go ahead," as she waved her hand dismissively.

Meanwhile, at the first training ground in Konoha, three children, two boys and one girl were arguing and playfully fighting with each other.

"Tsunade, my technique of throwing all the shuriken at once is powerful, right? Both you and Orochimaru got hit by me!" one of the boys boasted.

"Idiot, how could you throw them all at once?" Tsunade replied.

"The force isn't strong enough. It won't cause any real damage, and you'll be left without shuriken during the battle, which puts you at a disadvantage," Orochimaru commented from the side.

Suddenly, Hiruzen appeared nearby in his ninja vest. Noticing the kids seemed to be getting along well, he clapped his hands. The three disciples, hearing his voice, immediately stood up and greeted in unison, "Hello, sensei!"

"Since I will be leaving the village in three days, I will teach each of you a ninjutsu today. What ninjutsu would you like to learn?"

"I want to learn the most powerful ninjutsu!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"There is no such thing as the most powerful ninjutsu, and no ninjutsu is invincible," Hiruzen replied, looking at Jiraiya. "Since you don't have much chakra, you can only learn C-level ninjutsu."

Jiraiya jumped up enthusiastically and said, "Then I want to learn the most painful ninjutsu!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took out three chakra test papers and handed one to each of his disciples. "First, test your chakra attributes," he instructed. "Then we'll see which one is the best. Chakra is divided into five attributes: fire, wind, lightning, water, and earth. When you inject chakra into the paper, it will react differently depending on the attribute. [Fire] makes the paper catch fire, [wind] causes the paper to split in the middle, [lightning] causes the paper to wrinkle, [water] makes the paper get wet, and [earth] causes the paper to break. If you possess all five attributes, you'll see a combination of reactions where one area will catch fire, another will split, one will wrinkle, one will get wet, and the last will break."

After a while, the results came out. Jiraiya and Orochimaru both have all five attributes, and Tsunade has fire, lightning, earth, and water.

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and looked at Jiraiya. "Then, I will teach you a C-level ninjutsu: Fire Style - Flame Bullet. You hold the chakra-infused oil in your mouth and spit it out while using Fire Style to ignite it. This creates a bullet of flames that attacks your enemy. By limiting the amount of oil, you can shorten the time it takes to launch the ninjutsu. If the enemy is careless, they would be burned to death by the bullet flame. Do you understand how to learn this?"

"Alright, then get out of the way and watch closely," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a calm smile, motioning for his disciples to step aside. He was about to demonstrate the technique himself, eager to show them how it was done.

"Look carefully, the seal is Goat-Horse-Snake-Dragon-Rat-Ox-Tiger," Sarutobi Hiruzen instructed, demonstrating the seal step by step. In truth, he wasn't particularly accustomed to the formal, long-hand seals anymore. Having reached mastery over his chakra attributes, he had long been able to shorten the seals to save time. Techniques like Meteor Shower and Mudslide could be activated with a simple clap of his hands. The only time he had used a full seal after traveling back in time was when he released a Fire Dragon Bullet and an Earth Dragon Bullet while escaping.

"Fire Style - Flame Bullet (Katon: Kaendan)!" Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed up his cheeks and swiftly spat out a stream of fire. The line of flames quickly expanded and shot into the deep forest, setting several trees ablaze, reducing them to ashes in an instant.

Sarutobi Hiruzen wiped the corner of his mouth and looked at Jiraiya. "How is it?"

"Very powerful, I must learn this jutsu well." Jiraiya said excitedly

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to Orochimaru and Tsunade and said, "What attribute of ninjutsu would you want to learn?"

Orochimaru thought for a while and said, "I want to learn earth ninjutsu."

Tsunade also said, "Then I will learn water ninjutsu."

"Okay, one by one," Sarutobi Hiruzen said. He then proceeded to teach Orochimaru Earth Style – Rupturing Earth Palm (Doton: Retsudo Tenshō) and Tsunade Water Style – Water Wrist Technique (Suiton: Mizutechō).

"I'll leave the ninjutsu to you. Now it's up to you to practice," Hiruzen said, giving his disciples their tasks. "If you don't understand, come here and ask sensei. I'll be here all afternoon today, so practice on your own."

With that, he swiftly jumped onto a nearby tree, pulled out the copied scroll on sealing techniques, and began reading it. It was truly frustrating to him that even after becoming the Hokage, there were still things to learn. Lately, he had been focusing on studying the sealing technique, especially since rumors suggested a potential conflict with Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who were said to have survived inside the belly of the Nine-Tails and absorbed some of its chakra. This made Sarutobi Hiruzen even more determined to perfect his knowledge of sealing techniques, as they were one of the best ways to deal with the tailed beasts, but despite their importance, they were incredibly complex and difficult to master.

Just thinking about it, a voice came from under the tree, "Sensei."

Sarutobi Hiruzen flipped over and descended from the tree. "So it's Orochimaru. The Rupturing Earth Palm, huh? What is it that you don't understand?" He paused, a little puzzled. Didn't the anime in the previous life say Orochimaru was a genius?

"No, I've learned the Rupturing Earth Palm. Can I ask something else?" Orochimaru asked.

"Go ahead," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied, his tone relaxed. As a sensei, it was his duty to teach and resolve any doubts his students had. He gestured for Orochimaru to ask whatever was on his mind.

"Sensei, do you know about immortality?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, realizing he was dealing with a problematic child. He quickly searched for something from his previous life, some psychological wisdom or a famous quote that might leave an impression. Finally, he decided on one,

"Eternal life, when it comes to immortality, we must first talk about death. Legend says people die three times in their lives. The first time is when your heart stops beating, your breath fades, and you're biologically declared dead. The second time is when your body is buried, and society declares you no longer exist. The third death is when the last person who remembers you forgets you. At that moment, you're truly gone, and the entire universe will no longer have anything to do with you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, his tone reflective. "Based on the three ways of death, there are three possible paths to immortality."

He paused, gathering his thoughts. "The first is biological immortality, where the body remains alive forever. This is difficult, if not impossible. There is no immortal person in the ninja world at present. Perhaps there are techniques to delay aging or prolong life, but true immortality doesn't exist. Even the legendary Sage of Six Paths died."

"The second is the immortality of the soul, which is also unattainable. Without the nourishment of the body, the soul will eventually dissipate. In the village, there's the Kato clan, who study a soul technique called the Soul Transformation Technique, where the soul can temporarily leave the body to fight. But because the soul often leaves the body, it's was destroyed by nature, and those who use it rarely live long."

"The third," he said, with a more thoughtful look, "is spiritual immortality. Take the Sage of Six Paths or Lord Hashirama, for example. Their spirits have been passed down through the generations. After all these years, people still remember them. Recently, I've been planning to set up a history book or autobiography to record major events since the founding of Konoha, so future generations can learn from our experiences and avoid taking unnecessary detours."

"Wow, if each generation keeps recording, can we get immortality?" Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had appeared out of nowhere, exclaimed in surprise.

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled, squatted down, and hugged the three little ones. "Then, are you willing to help sensei achieve this ideal?" he asked.

"Of course I am willing! I hope that in the future, someone reads my autobiography and says, 'What a great ninja this Jiraiya was', " Jiraiya replied, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I am willing too," Tsunade and Orochimaru chimed in together.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded approvingly. "Then you must train hard and strive to be great ninjas, ones that people will remember for generations to come."

Tsunade hugged Hiruzen's arm and pouted playfully, saying, "Sensei, sensei, is there any ninjutsu that doesn't require hand seals? Hand seals are so troublesome. They take too long in battle, and it's just not fun."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up, thinking for a moment. "There are a few ways to solve this problem. One way is to practice more until you can make hand seals quickly," he explained. "For example, with the Water Dragon Bullet Technique, let me show you."

He formed the seals and spoke, "Water Style – Water Dragon Bullet Technique (Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu)", completing all 44 seals in a swift motion.

"However," he continued, "if you're proficient in a certain technique, you can perform it more efficiently. With enough practice, the seals can be simplified."

He then demonstrated again, this time performing only four seals for the same technique, showcasing the difference that mastery makes.

"This is my sensei who is also the Second Hokage, simplified the 44 seals of Water Dragon Bullet jutsu into 4 seals. Isn't it fast?"

Tsunade cheered, "My second grandfather is so powerful."

"Also, it's the kind of deep understanding of chakra that Lord Hashirama had. He could use techniques with just a clap of his hands, like the Mudslide Technique." Sarutobi Hiruzen said, demonstrating his own unique Mudslide ninjutsu by clapping his hands, releasing a burst of chakra.

"Sensei, sensei, I want to learn the First Hokage's techniques!" Jiraiya eagerly exclaimed from behind him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly turned to him and gave a firm warning, "Nothing can be achieved overnight, Jiraiya. Whether it's the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, or even me your sensei, we've all gone through countless battles, years of experience, and endless practice to reach this level. You, too, must train diligently and grow step by step."

Tsunade, looking a bit disappointed, sighed from the side, "Is there really no ninjutsu that can be used without hand seals?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled kindly and replied, "The only fighting method without seals is physical skills. You should also focus on training your body. The battlefield changes quickly, and you need to be well-rounded so you're not easily targeted. You could develop your own jutsu, like the Raikage's Lightning Armor technique, which can defend and attack. But no matter what kind of ninjutsu or physical skill you pursue, it all requires hard work and dedication."

Tsunade pouted, "Got it, sensei. You're so long-winded."

Orochimaru, with a serious expression, said, "I will train seriously, sensei."

Jiraiya, full of energy, added, "I'll train hard too! One day, I'll be able to clap my hands and do any jutsu that I want!"

The three little ones then rushed into the woods, eager to start their training.